All Forum Posts by: Andrew Jaquez

 I currently own nothing except an old Toyota and some savings from a solid W2 income. House hacking is definitely an avenue I can research more and that seems to be more fitting for a first time investor. 

Thanks again for the info and for your advice. I'm going to heed your warning and look closer to home. Newburgh is the most interesting to me right now so I'll start there. 

 This all makes sense, thank you for the response. I'm looking at the East side if Buffalo, so it's about a 10-15 min drive from downtown and the waterfront. 

That's a great point on rehab costs, but for this property specifically there's not too much work to be done. It needs two sets of new stairs, new doors and paint throughout so i was hoping 15k would cover it. Of course this is my first time so I'm not an expert by any means just trying to get a sense of what would work and what doesn't. Overall the house is in livable condition but I want to add some value to it and keep it not just flip it. 

 Thanks for the response! Totally understand your point on cash flow. I have been there in person and it was pretty much what I expected in terms of roughness. I'm in the NYC metro so even 1-2 hours out is pretty pricey, but I can do some more research. I was also considering Newburgh, NY which is about an hour away but very quickly becoming gentrified due to its proximity to NYC and the Hudson River. 

I'm working on getting my first piece of property and am now looking in Buffalo, NY which is ~6 hour drive from where I live. The property is in a rough neighborhood, but after some repairs it should rent 1200 per unit for 2400 total. Cost to acquire is ~100k and I plan on spending an extra 15k on repairs. 

Expenses: $1,225 (Mortgage, taxes, insurance property management)

Rent: $2400

Cash Flow: $1,175

Overall I'm looking for a low barrier to entry, and will be screening prospective tenants myself so I'm not too worried about the area being not so great. The neighborhood I'm looking in is a pretty rough, which is why homes are so cheap, but the opportunity is there to provide clean, safe, and affordable housing for a Section 8 voucher holder. In terms of exit strategy, I intend to keep the property long term. 

Any and all advice is appreciated especially from folks in the WNY region.